I tried to break free from the three wolves holding me down, but they bit harder. Held tighter.
Leighton disappeared into the shelter.
Seconds later, he emerged with Erica's small body dangling from his jaws.
"Erica!" My scream was pure anguish.
Kael spun toward them, but five wolves blocked his path.
Leighton's voice filled all our heads. "Surrender, Sophia. Or I will kill her. Right now."
Everything stopped.
"Let her go," I pleaded. "Please. She's your daughter."
"She's a failure. But she's useful leverage." His teeth pressed against Erica's throat. "Shift back. Both of you. Now."
Kael and I had no choice. We shifted back to human form.
Immediately, silver chains were thrown around our wrists and ankles. Chains that burned and suppressed our wolf magic.
Leighton shifted back too, still holding Erica. "Take them. All of them."
They dragged us through the forest.
Back toward pack territory. Back to the palace. Back to hell.
They separated us immediately.
Kael was thrown into the eastern dungeons—the ones reserved for dangerous rogues.
Erica was taken to the west tower. Locked away for "her protection."
And I was dragged to the deepest, darkest cell in the Black Stone Dungeon.
The place where traitors went to be forgotten.
The cell was tiny. Barely eight feet square. No windows. No light except for a single torch in the hallway that barely reached through the iron door.
They chained me to the wall with so much silver I could barely move. My wrists. My ankles. My waist. My neck.
Every breath hurt. Every movement burned.
"Comfortable?" Leighton asked from outside the cell.
I didn't answer.
"You'll stay here until you rot," he continued. "No trial. No ceremony. I've learned my lesson—no more giving you a chance to escape or invoke old laws."
"What about Erica?"
"She'll undergo her re-education. A few weeks of that, and she'll be a perfect, obedient daughter." His smile was cruel. "And your new mate? He'll be executed. Publicly. Tomorrow."
My heart stopped. "No."
"Yes. I can't have a powerful rogue disrupting my territory. Besides, his death will remind you of what happens when you defy me."
"Please," I whispered. "Please don't hurt him. He didn't do anything wrong."
"He killed ten of my warriors. And he dared to claim my wife as his mate." Leighton's face twisted with rage. "He dies tomorrow. And you'll watch."
He walked away, leaving me in the darkness.
I slumped against the wall, chains rattling.
Kael. My mate of only three days. A man who'd waited two hundred years to find me.
He was going to die because of me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into the darkness. "I'm so sorry."
Three days later…
I lost track of time in the darkness.
They brought food once a day—stale bread and water.
Sporadically, the bread was moldy. I ate it anyway.
I had to survive. For Erica.
If Kael was even still alive.
Every time I heard footsteps in the corridor, I held my breath. Waiting to hear about his execution. But no one came to tell me anything.
Maybe they'd already killed him.
Perhaps I was truly alone.
My wolf was barely a whisper now. The silver chains had suppressed her almost completely. I could feel her there, but just.
On what I thought was the fourth day, the cell door opened.
I expected a guard with food.
Instead, Elder Martha slipped inside.
"Luna," she whispered, kneeling beside me.
"Martha?" My voice was hoarse. "What are you doing here?"
"Bringing news. And something to help." She pulled out a small vial of dark liquid. "Wolfsbane tincture. Same as before. It will help you build tolerance of the silver."
I took it with shaking hands and drank a small sip. The bitter taste made me gag, but I forced it down.
"Thank you. But why risk coming here?"
"Because you're not as alone as Leighton wants you to think." Martha's wrinkled face was determined. "There's a resistance forming. Wolves who remember who you were. What you did for this pack."
"How many?"
"Two dozen now. Including Marcus—the warrior who brought you Erica's note before."
Marcus, I'd almost forgotten about him in the chaos.
"And Kael?" I asked desperately. "Is he alive?"
Martha's expression turned grim. "Yes. Barely. They're keeping him in the eastern dungeons. He's chained with pure silver—enough to kill a normal wolf. But he's still alive."
Relief flooded through me. "When is the execution?"
"Tomorrow night. Public ceremony in the main square." She gripped my hand. "But we have a plan."
"What plan?"
"The warrior from Black River—the one your aunt is sending—he's already here. Arrived yesterday. His name is Ronan."
My heart leaped. "He's here? Why hasn't he—"
"Because Leighton knows about him. Has guards watching his every move. If Ronan tries to free you directly, it starts a war between packs." Martha leaned closer. "But if you escape on your own, and Ronan just happens to give you safe passage to Black River territory… well, that's different."
"How am I supposed to escape? I can barely move."
"The resistance will help. During tomorrow's execution ceremony, everyone's attention will be on Kael. That's when we strike."
"What about Erica?"
"Marcus is assigned to guard the west tower tomorrow. He'll get her out."
It was a crazy plan. So many things could go wrong.
But it was the only chance we had.
"Okay," I said. "What do I need to do?"
Martha smiled. "Just be ready to run when the moment comes."
The Next Night
They came for me at sunset.
Six guards, all carrying silver chains and weapons.
"Time for a show, traitor," one of them sneered.
They unchained me from the wall but kept the shackles on my wrists and ankles. Then they dragged me up from the dungeons.
The evening air felt like ice after days in the dark. I squinted against the fading sunlight.
The Sacred Altar Square was packed. Even more crowded than during my humiliation ceremony. Everyone wanted to see the rogue executed.
In the center of the square stood a wooden platform. New, freshly built. An execution stage.
And chained to a post in the middle was Kael.
He was in human form, wearing only torn pants. His muscular body was covered in bruises and cuts. The silver chains wrapped around him so tightly I could see them burning his skin.
But his silver-blue eyes were still fierce.
Those eyes found mine across the crowd.
The mate bond flared between us. Even weakened by silver and distance, I could feel his emotions.
Pain. Rage. And love.
He'd known me for three days. But the bond wasn't concerned about time.
I tried to send comfort back through the bond. Tried to tell him without words that we'd find a way out of this.
His expression softened slightly.
Leighton stood at the front of the platform in his ceremonial Alpha robes. Julia stood beside him, her pregnant belly prominent under a flowing dress.
"My pack!" Leighton's voice boomed. "Tonight we witness justice. This rogue"—he "gestured at Kael—killed ten of our warriors. He broke our law. He attempted to steal our former Luna."
The crowd murmured. Some are angry. Some are uncertain.
"For these crimes, the sentence is death."
I searched the crowd desperately. Where was the resistance? Where was Martha?
There, near the back. I spotted Martha. And beside her, Marcus. And a dozen others scattered throughout the crowd. All watching. Waiting.
And standing at the very edge of the square, half-hidden in shadows, was a man I'd never seen before. Tall and broad, with copper-red hair. He wore travel clothes and carried himself like a warrior.
Ronan. The Black River escort.
Our eyes met for just a second. He nodded slightly.
He was ready.
"Any last words, rogue?" Leighton asked Kael mockingly.
Kael lifted his head. His voice rang clear and strong across the square. "Only this: The Moon Goddess sees all. She knows the truth. And she never forgives those who harm true mates."
A chill ran through the crowd. Invoking the Moon Goddess during an execution was a serious thing.
Leighton's face darkened with rage. "Then let the Goddess watch you die."
He pulled out a silver sword. The blade gleamed in the torchlight.
He raised it high.
This was it. The moment.
I looked at Martha. She was already moving, pulling something from her cloak.
"NOW!" she screamed.
She threw a handful of powder onto the nearest torch. It exploded in a burst of blinding white light and thick smoke.
Chaos erupted.
People screamed. Guards shouted. The entire square dissolved into confusion.
Through the smoke, I felt hands grab me. "Run!" Marcus's voice. "This way!"
He was pulling me toward the edge of the square. I stumbled, the chains making it difficult to move fast.
"Wait, Kael—"
"Already handled. Look!"
Through the smoke, I saw figures rushing the execution platform. The resistance members attacked the guards. And in the center of it all, Ronan had leaped onto the stage.
With one powerful swing of his sword, he cut through Kael's chains.
Kael collapsed forward, too weak to stand. But he was free.
Ronan threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and jumped off the platform.
"STOP THEM!" Leighton roared.
Guards poured in from all sides. But the resistance fighters blocked their path, buying us seconds.
Marcus pulled me into an alley. "Erica?"
"Already out. She's with Clara—the servant girl. They're heading to the rendezvous point."
We ran through the narrow streets. Behind us, I heard shouting. Fighting. The sounds of battle.
We burst out into the forest. Ronan was already there, still carrying Kael. Clara stood nearby with Erica wrapped in a blanket.
"Mommy!" Erica ran to me.
I dropped to my knees and pulled her close. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. They didn't hurt me." She pulled back. "But we have to go. Now. The guards are coming."
She was right. I could hear wolves howling in the distance. The hunt had begun.
"This way," Ronan said. His voice was rough, businesslike. "I have horses waiting one mile north. If we move fast, we can reach Black River territory by dawn."
"What about Kael?" I asked. He was unconscious now, the silver poisoning taking its toll.
"He comes with us," Ronan said firmly. "He's your mate. That makes him pack."
Simple as that.
We ran.
Through the dark forest, following Ronan's lead. Erica stayed close to my side. Clara brought up the rear.
Marcus had stayed behind to help the resistance. So had Martha.
I hoped they'd survive. Hoped Leighton wouldn't punish them too severely.
The horses were where Ronan said—four powerful mounts, already saddled.
Ronan laid Kael across one horse and climbed behind him, holding him steady. I mounted another with Erica in front of me. Clara took third.
"The fourth is for your friend Marcus, if he catches up," Ronan explained. "If not, we leave it."
"Let's go!" I urged.
We rode hard through the night. Behind us, I could hear pursuit. Wolves and horses both.
But Ronan knew these forests. He led us through secret paths, across streams that would hide our scent.
As the sun began to rise, we crested a hill.
Below us lay a massive stone marker. The kind that marked pack territory borders.
Below us lay a massive stone marker. The kind that marked pack territory borders.
On one side of the marker, the symbol was a silver crescent moon—Leighton's pack.
On the other side was a roaring black river—the Black River Pack. My birth pack.
"Once we cross that line, you're under Black River protection," Ronan said. "Leighton can't touch you without starting a war."
"Then let's cross it," I said.
We rode down the hill. As we approached the marker, I looked back one last time.
In the distance, I could see wolves emerging from the forest. Leighton's hunting party. At least thirty of them.
Leading them was a massive black wolf. Leighton himself.
Our eyes met across the distance.
Even from here, I could feel his rage. His hatred.
You won't win, I thought at him. Not this time.
We crossed the border marker.
Immediately, wolves appeared from the Black River side. Two dozen warriors in formation, blocking the border.
Leading them was a huge grey wolf with amber eyes. He shifted to human form—a man in his fifties with grey hair and a commander's bearing.
"Sophia?" he called out.